A chromosome-scale assembly for 'd'Anjou' pear.

Cultivated pear consists of several Pyrus species with Pyrus communis (European pear) representing a large fraction of worldwide production. As a relatively recently domesticated crop and perennial tree, pear can benefit from genome-assisted breeding. Additionally, comparative genomics within Rosaceae promises greater understanding of evolution within this economically important family. Here, we generate a fully phased chromosome-scale genome assembly of P. communis 'd'Anjou.' Using PacBio HiFi and Dovetail Omni-C reads, the genome is resolved into the expected 17 chromosomes, with each haplotype totaling nearly 540 Megabases and a contig N50 of nearly 14 Mb. Both haplotypes are highly syntenic to each other and to the Malus domestica 'Honeycrisp' apple genome. Nearly 45,000 genes were annotated in each haplotype, over 90% of which have direct RNA-seq expression evidence. We detect signatures of the known whole-genome duplication shared between apple and pear, and we estimate 57% of d'Anjou genes are retained in duplicate derived from this event. This genome highlights the value of generating phased diploid assemblies for recovering the full allelic complement in highly heterozygous crop species.

"Touching Triton": Building Student Understanding of Complex Disease Risk.

Life science classrooms often emphasize the exception to the rule when it comes to teaching genetics, focusing heavily on rare single-gene and Mendelian traits. By contrast, the vast majority of human traits and diseases are caused by more complicated interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Research indicates that students have a deterministic view of genetics, generalize Mendelian inheritance patterns to all traits, and have unrealistic expectations of genetic technologies. The challenge lies in how to help students analyze complex disease risk with a lack of curriculum materials. Providing open access to both content resources and an engaging storyline can be achieved using a "serious game" model. "Touching Triton" was developed as a serious game in which students are asked to analyze data from a medical record, family history, and genomic report in order to develop an overall lifetime risk estimate of six common, complex diseases. Evaluation of student performance shows significant learning gains in key content areas along with a high level of engagement.